Slander
by tinuviel451
Summary: All Irene Ellet wanted was a nice scoop to tell for her newspaper. But the young sergeant wouldn't let her get in a proper interview with the commander. Running low on funds and material, she now only has her writing to fall back on. With her new piece, Irene will make sure Alicia pays for getting in the way of her reporting.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Story telling 101

Irene Ellet sat at her desk, typing out one of her articles. The fans whirled over head, beating her down with suffocating humid air. She wiped a bead of sweat off her brow as she continued to write. At "Writing on the Wall," Irene struggled to keep to her deadlines. The problem wasn't her writing. She had more than enough skill to write, enough to write ten books. The problem was getting a hold of the necessary material.

"If Commander Welkin just gave me another interview, I could do a great expose on the war," she mumbled. She yanked out the paper from her typewriter. Not enough to even cover the full page. She growled, knowing her publisher would chew her out again if she couldn't provide another best-selling article. She knew her readers would love to see an in-depth piece on the war against the Empire, especially if it was an expose on a dashing commander and his newly formed squad holding the line against the encroaching darkness. Without money or verified sources, however, this young reporter could only gather enough material together for her short articles. Her radio report did raise her profile, but did little to help her with getting new sources. Unfortunately, she would have to resort to more . . . uncomfortable means for getting funds.

Irene pulled out a large box of photos from her drawer. She turned them over, flipping through them with a wide grin. A nice, juicy picture, that's all she needed to write. For her newspaper and for her radio station, Irene never compromised on the truth. Fictional stories "based on real events" were different, however. Irene knew she was simply making the type of literature that soldiers at the front loved to read. Years of snooping through military bases taught her that soldiers would pay good money for hot stories that would take their mind off the war. Flipping through the box she couldn't find much other than landscapes or generic soldiers on march. If only Alicia hadn't confiscated most of her good pics, Irene thought as she rummaged through her leftover pile.

Flipping out a group photo, Irene took a good look at the girls of Squad 7. Several beauties stood out, all chatting with one another as they sat at their cafeteria table. Shouldn't be that hard to find something good with beautiful girls like that, Irene thought as she continued her search. One picture of Dallas with her arms around Marina, who was right in the middle of swabbing out the grime in her sniper rifle with a cleaning rod. Eh, it would have been good if that dark-haired sniper didn't have that awful scowl on her face. Another with Edy and Susie resting beside a tank, mouths open as they leaned up against one another. Cute, but it was a little too tame to interest people. Swimsuit scene with the girls of Squad 7 at the beach? No, she thought as she set the picture aside. Perhaps for a later issue.

Irene pulled out one of the photos from the back, and coughed as a thin layer of sand flew up in her face. The photograph was out of focus, but seemed to be set in the desert judging by the rough, barren ground. The photo depicted Sergeant Alicia in Corporal Isara's face, probably giving her some order. Isara looked down as she leaned against a dust-covered tank, her face lit by the glow of a nearby lantern. Irene couldn't help but let her lip curl up at the sight of the sergeant who denied her a proper interview. Was it really that much to ask for a nice scoop for her newspaper, instead of the run around she got during her visit?

The reporter gave the photo one last look over. It wasn't like it was special or anything, just one woman giving orders to her subordinate. Except . . . Isara had a small bruise on her cheek. Irene flipped over the photo. No notes on it, nothing to indicate what was going on. Taking a closer look, the reporter knew the two girls were located near their squad's tank, at night given the lantern. She set the photo down near her typewriter.

"Nothing personal," Irene whispered as she inserted a sheet of paper into the machine. She chuckled as she began to type. She would make sure all the names were changed, and the eyes blurred before putting the photo on the front page. Irene might not have gotten the interview she wanted, but it wasn't like she wanted to destroy them with a fake scandal. Even she had lines she would never cross. Besides, once she got the money she needed, Irene knew she could finally get back to work on her true passion: reporting the news. She smiled broadly as her typewriter clacked away. For all of Alicia's attempts to block Irene's reporting, she would soon find herself the star of her own story. Was that irony? Irene shrugged to no one in particular. At very least, it was a good way to take a pestering woman down a peg.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Pushback

It had been a week since the Gallian squad had arrived in the desert, but already the weather was proving harsh. The sun beating down on her head during the day made travel exhausting. The freezing nights also made sleep nearly impossible, even while wrapped up in several blankets. The occasional sandstorm destroyed their engines, and obscured communications. Now that the sun had set, the temperature was already beginning to drop dramatically. The young yet experienced tanker Corporal Isa wiped the sweat off her brow. Despite the tough weather, the young teen did her best to focus on her task: fixing the unit's lone tank. Without it, they'd never stand a chance of winning against the Imperials. Isa let the sweat drip down her forehead as she continued to tighten the plating making up the tank's armored skirt. She tightly gripped her wrench, hoping to complete her work before the cold began to set in. The only thing she focused on was the continued squeal of the bolts tightening under her wrench's grip.

"Aren't you the diligent one?" a voice asked in a soft tone. Isara whipped her head around to see a slightly older woman with her hands on her hips walking towards her. She had been so focused on her task, she had ignored the sound of the sand crunching beneath her superior's feet. The young girl dropped her tool and took a step back as her sergeant approached.

"Alice, I thought you were-"

"Taking watch?" Alice laughed, brushing back her auburn hair. "No, Maria decided she wanted some time with our squad mascot underneath the desert sky. I'm sure she'll be busy taking care of that pig for a while. It's just you and me."

Alice held out her hand with a warm smile.

"Come back with me. It's cold out here. I'm sure you can fix whatever's wrong with the tank tomorrow. Our tent is just back that way," she said, nodding towards the tent near the back of the camp.

". . . no," Isa whispered, her voice barely loud enough to overcome the ruffling of the canvas in the distance.

"No?"

"No. I can't. No more."

Alice tilted her head to the side. Maybe Isa didn't hear her correctly.

"I said, 'come back with me.' I just want to make sure you're rested for tomorrow. We have a long march ahead of us tomorrow," the young sergeant said, tugging at Isa's shoulder. Still nothing. Perhaps the corporal needed a lesson about the importance of obeying orders. In one motion, Alice raised her hand and smacked Isa right across the face. Hard. She gasped, and as she clutched her bruised cheek, Alice pushed her up against the side of the tank.

"When I tell you to follow me, that's a direct order. I expect you to obey."

Isa's mouth opened, twitching as she thought of something to say. How cute, Alice thought as she watched her eyes start to water.

"I'll tell my brother. Y-you wouldn't dare-"

"Okay, let me stop you there," Alice said with a finger to the corporal's lips. "The commander is wrapped around my little finger. If I wanted, I could make sure no one, not his soldiers, nor his family, nor dashing young reporters talk with him. He knows the reputation of this squad is my responsibility. Even if he tried something stupid like reporting me, you think the high command would let such bad press come to light? No," Alice said as she circled the young girl. "No, they would not. Now, do you want to come with me, or do I have to get rough with you?"

Isa started to open her mouth again, before quietly nodding. Damn. That would have be so much more fun, Alice thought.

"Now, come here," the sergeant whispered as she held Isa's chin between her slender fingers..

"I . . . I . . . never . . . I-I . . . w-would . . . n-never . . ."

Alicia lowered the paper in her hands, scrunching up the edges. At the front was a blurry photo of two girls near the squad's tank, both with their eyes blotted out. Even from a distance, Alicia could recognize Isara's distinctive shawl and her own baker's scarf. She took several deep breaths until she regained the strength to look at her commander, who was busy sitting at his desk, focusing on anything but his sergeant.

"Where. Did. This. Come. From?" she asked, each word hissing out between gritted teeth. Welkin took a quick look at the door, making sure it was still firmly shut and locked before facing Alicia.

"I found it in the barracks. After the squad started lining up for breakfast, I thought I would check on their living quarters. You know, make sure it's up to standard. On the table in their room was . . . that story. At first, I thought it was one the daily newspapers that someone got through the mail. Then I started to read," Welkin said, shaking his head. Alicia grimaced, and began flipping through the remaining pages. Even just skimming through the story she could tell it was explicit. Over the next few pages, the author had this horrid character gripping Isa tightly by the collar, pushing her down onto the ground, tearing off part of her uniform, and . . . and even pressing her hand on-

Welkin plucked the paper out of her hand, and before Alicia could react, had rolled it up into a ball and thrown it into a nearby trash bin.

"Trust me, you don't want to read the rest of it. It gets a lot worse."

"Who wrote it? I swear, if I get my hands on them-"

"It's one of those underground magazines, no authors listed. Trust me, I want them punished just as much as you for messing with my sister. but I don't know anything about who wrote it. I've asked Faldio to confiscate any copies that come his way, but I'm not sure how many are in circulation."

"W-wait. How many read it?" Alicia asked, her eyes growing wider and wider.

"I-I don't think there are that many out there," Welkin said as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, the paper quality is poor, and the ink looks like-"

"How. Many?" she asked, slamming her fist into Welkin's desk. He flinched, and gave out an awkward sounding laugh.

"Judging by the amount of soldiers that were in that part of the barracks this morning . . . at least a dozen. That's only if it was passed around the bunks," Welkin said, noticing his sergeant's eye twitching. "I'm sure they keep to themselves. We only just got back from the front, so I'm sure the squad is too tired to really share stuff like this. You might want to think about staying out of sight for a while."

Alicia gave Welkin a half-baked salute before storming out of his office, her teeth grating together as she thought of creative ways to disembowel the writer who used her for a trashy story. That Welkin, she thought, stomping her way past a few unluckily souls who scattered before her. If he acted more like a commander instead of an absentminded animal lover, no one would dare publish filth about her squad. The reputation of the military was at stake, yet Welkin couldn't even be bothered to let his anger out. Alicia, however, would gladly dole out the punishment the criminal deserved, even if her commander couldn't.

Unfortunately for the sergeant, her war march was stopped by the uncomfortable sound of her stomach growling. She sighed, placing a hand on her belly. Alicia had skipped breakfast that morning. And, much as she would like to avoid her squad for the rest of the war, she knew she had to face them at some point. She headed towards the cafeteria, hoping to grab a quick bite and get the hell out.

As Alicia queued up in line with the other soldiers, she could feel the glances coming her way, judging her. Judging her for a character in a horrible, smutty story that was NOTHING like her. The cook gave Alicia her meal: week-old chicken, boiled carrots, and canned mashed potatoes. Normally she'd say something about the quality of the food, but not today. As she circled back to the tables she noticed a lack of open spots. Except for one right next to Isara, who was quietly nibbling on her food.

The sergeant took a deep breath. It was okay. There was nothing to be worried about. As calmly as she could, she took her tray and walked over to Isara's table. As Alicia sat down next to her, she could definitely feel the table start to go cold. Edy, normally the talkative one of the group, lowered her voice as Alicia approached. Rosie, sitting at the end of table, gave her a single look before scowling.

"So, our NCO finally shows up. How's it going?"

Alicia cleared her throat as she settled into her seat. "Fine. Our commander had some important news to give me this morning, so I apologize for missing morning drill. How about you?" she asked, taking a bite of very dry chicken. She coughed, and as she swiftly gulped down a glass of water she noticed Rosie watch her with disdain.

"Oh, can't complain. Then again, you haven't tried to force yourself on me. Not yet at least," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked as she ground her fork into her mashed potatoes, leaving deep scratch marks in the tray.

"I think you know what I'm talking about. Maybe I'm not your type," Rosie said, curling up her magenta-colored hair with her finger. "My hair not dark enough for you? Maybe that's why you stick up for those stinking Darcsens."

"You know, you shouldn't talk to your superior like that. You could get sent to latrine duty for a month if you're not careful," Alicia said with a glare in her eyes. She took a huge scoop of mashed potato and angrily scarfed it down. Rosie leaned back in her chair, ignoring the still piping hot food in front of her.

"No need to get upset, you probably can't help yourself. Maybe that's just your fetish. I mean, I can practically smell Isara on you from here," she said, waving her hand in front of her nose.

Alicia slammed her hands against the table. If there were soldiers in the cafeteria who weren't looking at her before, they were now. She stood on top the table, and stared down at others but particularly at Rosie.

"Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. I'm sure you all read that story about Isara and me." Looking around the cafeteria, she noticed most soldiers, including those from her squad, shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders in response. Okay, so maybe the story wasn't as widespread as she thought. Too late to stop now, she thought as she gulped.

"First all, if I find out that one of you wrote that crap, I am going personally stuff you into a cannon and use you as ammo. Secondly, Corporal Isara Gunther is nothing more than my subordinate. She's close to our Lieutenant, and I want to make sure she's prepared for battle. Besides, it's not like I'm into women."

"Well . . ." Susie tapped her chin with her finger, as if deep in thought. "When you were in the spa with us, you looked pretty conflicted," the blonde girl said.

"That's because . . . because I had important things on my mind," Alicia stammered. It wasn't like she could admit she was thinking of her commander at the time.

"You got pretty flustered when we were playing around," Edy said with a proud smile. "I'm not surprised. With a face like mine, I'm sure plenty of guys and girls want to be with me."

"If you recall, you were the one grabbing MY chest," Alicia said, her eyebrow beginning to twitch.

"I saw the photo on the front with you and her. Even if its blurry, it's pretty obvious it's you two," Rosie said with a smirk. Alicia closed her eyes and grit her teeth as she tried her best not to give a fellow soldier a solid punch to the face.

"I don't remember when it was taken, but rest assured, I consider Corporal Isara to be a good friend and a great soldier. She's saved our asses countless times out there, and we owe her our respect," Alicia said, gesturing towards Isara, who was quietly listening to her speech. She slowly nodded, giving the young sergeant confidence that the whole mess would blow over.

"See, Isara and I get along just fine. Isn't that right?"

The young soldier silently nodded as she put a small bite of food into her mouth. Alicia sighed, relieved to see that at least Isara hadn't turned on her. Alicia stepped down from the table and placed her arm around Isara's shoulder, hoping to reassure the squad that she was a friendly, non-threatening superior to the young Darcsen.

Almost instantly Isara pulled away, knocking aside her tray and sending it clattering to the ground. She looked up, her eyes wide and frightened.

"I'm fine," she said, holding up her hand towards Alicia. "I just need some space."

The sergeant backed away, her mouth also beginning to spasm as she watched Isara pick up her tray off the floor. As she walked away from the table she continued to look at the cold, concrete floor, ignoring the growing whispers around her.

"Hey, you know I'd never hurt you, right Isara?" Alicia asked with a smile, hoping to save the moment. Isara didn't respond, and instead threw what crumbs remained on her tray into a garbage can. As she walked away, Alicia ran up to her. Why wasn't she denying it?

"Isara, tell them. Tell them it's made up. Say something," Alicia pleaded.

"Miss Alicia, WHY?"

The sergeant felt someone's arms around her, and in a heartbeat was slammed to the ground. She groaned as Dallas hugged her tight, causing several of her joints to pop.

"If you just wanted the attention, I'm here for you. All this time I thought you had it out for our commander when you actually had a girl on the side. How could you?" she asked as she squeezed Alicia's ribcage. Alicia struggled with a response, partially because she didn't know how to deny such an outlandish claim, but mainly because of the lack of air in her crushed lungs.

"Isara . . ." she tried to gasp as Dallas continued hugging her. Isara turned back for a moment, tears in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," she said, running out of the room, pushing her way past the arriving squad 1.

Alicia yanked at the hands around her waist, but Dallas refused to loosen her grip. As the room started to go dark, Alicia hoped that her memory of the day would go with it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Alicia groaned, her eyes hurting from the bright lights above her. As she stirred, she could make out the droning hum of the ceiling fan overhead. Her body rustled the thin sheets covering her up. Even with her blurred vision, she knew she was in the medical bay.

"Damn . . ." Alicia mumbled, scratching her eyelids as she sat up. The pain in her head was throbbing. She scrunched up the sheets with her hands, hoping that she wouldn't vomit in her bed.

"Sergeant. It's good to see you're recovering."

Alicia's right hand shot up and instinctively saluted. She knew the voice belonged to her superior, Captain Verrot. As her vision cleared Alicia noticed her captain standing by her bedside, holding her greatcoat in her hands.

"Are you planning on laying there all day, Sergeant? I know you've had to deal with some uncomfortable rumors, but our nation is still at war."

Rumors? Alicia thought as she slowly got up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. After a moment she groaned. That stupid story. Right, no forgetting that.

"Lieutenant Welkin was quite worried for you when he heard you passed out in the cafeteria. Personally, I'm concerned about the amount of stress you're under just from being in camp. Perhaps you need some time to rest?"

"No, no, that won't be necessary," Alicia said as she shook her head. "I'll . . . I'll get back to work, right away." Alicia slowly reached for her greatcoat, and draped it over her shoulders. As she attempted to get up, her captain pressed her back down onto the bed, her hands firmly clenched on her shoulders.

"How bad is it?"

"W-what do you-"

"Sergeant. You know what I'm talking about."

Alicia opened her mouth, struggling to find the proper words. It was one thing for a few people in her squad to have read the story about her, but for her superior to know was something she couldn't handle.

"It's not . . . it's not too bad. I mean, that stupid magazine makes me out to be some kind of pervert, but . . . no, I'm fine. I'll just . . . perform my duties. As always," she said, doing her best to smile.

"Are you still able to lead your men?"

"Huh?"

"Perhaps your leadership skills aren't as excellent as I first thought," Captain Verrot said with a shake of her head. "If necessary, I can arrange for you to transfer to a reserve unit for a short while."

"No!"

Alicia shot out of her bed, landing on the cold floor below her. She gasped, feeling her legs wobble as she stood up straight. She wasn't going to be sent away, not when Welkin, Isara, and all the others needed her. She wasn't a quitter.

"I'm a strong leader. You won't need to replace me," Alicia said, giving her captain a stern look. The captain nodded firmly in response.

"Good. Then find out who's responsible for tarnishing your excellent reputation, and go back to doing what you're best at," she said with a smile.

"I'll get to the bottom of this, don't you worry," Alicia said with a gleam in her eye.

As the captain left, Alicia put on her boots, pulling into a tight fit. She wasn't going to let Welkin or her squad down. She'd make sure that she'd fight to win back her place among the troops. But now to the hard part, Alicia thought as she headed out into the hallway. Finding out clues to who did in her reputation.

"Oh, Miss Alicia, you're all better!"

Dallas threw down her wrench and started running towards her superior at full speed. Alicia held out her hands, and managed to soften the blow just enough to avoid toppling over. Holding the excited girl out at arms length, Alicia hoped that Dallas would provide clues about the origins of the story about her.

"Listen, Dallas, I need to know about that story that went out yesterday. Know anything about who wrote it?"

"No, I . . . I thought it was disgusting," Dallas said with a pout. "I consider myself a connoisseur of . . . forbidden romance literature. I remember seeing Rosie reading a magazine in the bunk the other day. After she read through it, she pushed it into my hands, saying something about how 'I would like that kind of trash.' It had your picture on it, so I thought it would make for good reading. After I read a few pages though , I . . . I wanted to cry. Y-you . . . you and that other girl-"

"Don't worry, it's all fake," Alicia said with a tired smile. "I'd never do anything to harm a fellow soldier."

"I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" Dallas screamed, wrapping her arms tight around her superior. "I knew you didn't have any other girls on the side. I'm the only one for you, Miss Alicia!"

"Okay, okay, settle down," Alicia said as she pulled Dallas off her. "So, Rosie was the one who brought in the magazine? Alright, going to have a chat with her," she said, turning to leave the garage. Dallas latched onto her wrist, and as Alicia looked back she saw her smile grow disturbingly wide.

"You know . . . I don't mind if you treat me roughly, Miss Alicia. I'm all yours . . ." she said, her eyes growing wider and wider as she tightened her grip.

"I think I'll pass on the offer . . ." Alicia said, quickly tugging her arm out of the engineer's grasp.

Dallas continued to advance on her superior, her mouth dripping as she reached out her hands. At that point, Alicia knew it was time to go.

"Edy? You can't change out of your uniform in public!" Alicia said, looking past Dallas' shoulder. As the young soldier looked away, her sergeant took the opportunity to retreat back to the barracks. Sprinting away from her obsessive underling, Alicia prepared herself for showing Rosie her place in the squad.

"Are you serious?"

Rosie laughed loudly, clutching her sides as Alicia stood in front of her. She had reacted better than expected to Alicia's accusations. Still, the young sergeant knew Rosie had to start talking if the truth about the magazine was going to be revealed.

"I'm not exactly a model soldier, but I'm not crazy enough to write crap about my boss. Besides, why would I write smut with a Darscen in it? That's disgusting," Rosie said, shaking her head. Alice grit her teeth as she tried her best to ignore Rosie's taunting smirk.

"Dallas told me that you were the one who had the magazine."

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Dallas says a lot of things. She's girl crazy, you know. She's probably the one who wrote the damn thing in the first place. Now, if you don't mind, I have a card game waiting for me," she said, heading towards the door.

"I want to know where you got the magazine from," Alicia said, her voice rising.

"Listen, I'm not going to rat out a fellow soldier. I'm tired, I'm bored, and I don't have time for this. Now, lay off," Rosie said, walking around her.

Alicia held out her arm, forcing her to stop. Rosie stared her sergeant down down, but Alicia refused to look away. Like it or not, she was going to answer her questions. Rosie finally relented, groaning loudly before she decided to talk.  
"A few days ago, I came back to the barracks after getting a bad couple of rounds. As I passed the alleyway I saw a guy I know chuck that magazine into the trash. I wanted something to take my mind off the game, so I picked it up. It . . . worked," she said with a shudder. "I passed the damn thing off to Dallas, and I tried my best to forget the whole thing and go to sleep."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Rosie said, yanking open the door. "If you want to know more, ask around the loading docks. The guy with the magazine was carrying his crate of vegetables in, like he always does. Oh, and by the way," she said, holding the door open a crack. "I hear Isara's looking for you. I don't care about your love life, just leave me the hell out of it," Rosie said, snapping the door shut behind her.

Alicia growled, grinding her teeth together as she stormed out the back door. A full day's searching and she still hadn't found out who was writing about her. Still, she wasn't going to give up, not with her reputation on the line. Alicia headed to the loading docks, hoping to put an end to her nightmare.

* * *

Irene wiped a line of sweat from her brow as she hunched over her typewriter. Her contacts in the army loved the story she had sold to them. She had sold out the few dozen copies she had printed out, and finally had some money for her work.

"At least we can fix the damn lighting now," Irene whispered to herself, squinting at the flickering bulb above her. Still, she needed more if she was going to make her newspaper respectable. She needed something bigger. Something juicier. And not that fake stuff anymore. A juicy romance story, a story that would give her the funds to really dig into the truth of the war effort. But to do all that, she needed material.

She sighed, packing up her pencil and notepad. Perhaps it was time to make a trip back to Squad 7, and see how they were doing. Especially Alicia, Irene thought with a smile.


End file.
